Nelly Reheats Charts

Wed., Aug. 21, 2002 2:15 PM PDT by David Jenison

Nelly may have taken a month off, but now he's back in the hot seat.

The hip-hopster's Nellyville, number one for three weeks following its June 3 debut, was stuck at number two for the past month as the Dave Matthews Band, Toby Keith and Bruce Springsteen all rotated through the top slot. Now, still powered by the runaway hit "Hot in Herre," Nellyville is back at number one, selling 183,000 copies for the week ended Sunday, according to SoundScan.

That was enough to squeak by The Eminem Show, which moved 179,000 copies.

With the two superstar rappers back on top, Bruce Springsteen's The Rising tumbled to number three with 167,000 copies, just a hair shy of the platinum mark (which it will easily pass next week).

The week's top bow belongs to mellow singer-songwriter James Taylor, whose October Road sold 154,000 copies to open in fourth place on the album charts. Taylor hopes he can match the magic of his last Sony studio release, 1997's Hourglass, which earned the 54-year-old popster his first Top 10 debut and a Grammy Award for Best Pop Album.

With Dave Matthews and Trick Daddy Dollars dropping from the Top 10, the XXX soundtrack was able to jump in at number nine, as the film enjoyed its second week on top of the box office.

The rest of the Top 10, all repeat offenders, were as follows: Avril Lavigne's Let Go climbed four spots to number five, Now That's What I Call Music! Vol. 10 at six, Toby Keith's Unleashed at seven, Linkin Park's Reanimation at eight and Scarface's The Fix at 10.

Just outside the Top 10, R&B vet Keith Sweat's Rebirth berthed at 14. The bluegrass trio Nickel Creek--who cover Pavement's "Spit on a Stranger" this time out--came in 18th with their sophomore album, This Side. Hip-hop albums followed back-to-back with the Doggy Style All-Stars (the first release from Snoop Dogg's new MCA joint venture) debuting at 19 and Detroit rappers Slum Village at 20 with Trinity (Past, Present, and Future).

Elsewhere on the charts, Do or Die's Back 2 the Game debuted at 64, Sparta's Wiretap Scars entered at 71, Christian popsters Jump5 (think 'N Sync-meets-Brady Bunch...in church) registered at 86 with All the Time in the World and Bright Eyes' quixotically titled Lifted or the Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground landed at 161.

Last week, rock fans mourned the loss of Drowning Pool singer Dave Williams, who passed away while touring with Ozzfest. In the wake of his death, the group's 2001 debut, Sinner, reentered the charts at number 41 with nearly double the sales of the previous week. (Ozzfest has tapped Tommy Lee to replace Drowning Pool on its main stage for the final few shows.)

To recap, the Top 10 albums for the week ended August 18 were as follows:

1. Nellyville, Nelly
2. The Eminem Show, Eminem
3. The Rising, Bruce Springsteen
4. October Road, James Taylor
5. Let Go, Avril Lavigne
6. Now That's What I Call Music! Vol. 10, various
7. Unleashed, Toby Keith
8. Reanimation, Linkin Park
9. XXX soundtrack, various
10. The Fix, Scarface